how faculty see course evals

by Jessica Morar 10 min read

Faculty do not see any results of course evaluations until after final grades are posted. Results are compiled and are not connected to any student names. Written comments are provided exactly as students wrote them. • Instructors can see response rates while the course evaluation is open, but no results.

Full Answer

How do student evaluations of courses improve teaching and learning?

Student evaluations of courses are one important tool for improving the quality of teaching and learning at the Harvard Chan School. Course instructors value students’ honest and constructive feedback, and the school uses these evaluations to make improvements to courses and to the overall quality of education here.

How do I set up an online evaluation for my course?

Contact your departmental evaluation coordinator to setup an online evaluation for your course. If you are unsure who your coordinator is, contact iasuw@uw.edu.

What if I am assigned an evaluation for a course I am not?

If you are assigned an evaluation for a course that you are not teaching or have not been assigned to a course that you are teaching, please contact the person in your department who is responsible for maintaining faculty teaching assignments in Peoplesoft/SOLAR.

What is end-of-course evaluation data?

End-of-course evaluation data is a type of summative assessment. Though helpful "next time," summative assessments typically happen too far down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and interventions during the learning process.

Overview

Faculty and course evaluation plays an important role whereby students provide meaningful feedback to their instructors. Evaluations can take place at the midpoint or end of each term and all students are encouraged to participate in evaluating each of their instructors.

Strategies

Each term, faculty will receive an email after approximately 30% of the course has been completed to “Opt-In” their course to receive a midterm evaluation. Students can provide feedback midway through the course to give instructors time to adjust and make changes to the course.

Where is the course evaluation system administered?

The course evaluation system is administered through the Office of Education and Information Technology offices at the School.

Who can view student feedback?

Student feedback is viewable by the course instructors, TA’s, the department administrator and staff in the Office of Education.

Why is student evaluation important?

Student evaluations of courses are one important tool for improving the quality of teaching and learning at the Harvard Chan School. Course instructors value students’ honest and constructive feedback, and the school uses these evaluations to make improvements to courses and to the overall quality of education here.

How long does a course evaluation stay open?

Depending on the term, evaluations typically stay open for three-four weeks following the opening of the system.

What should feedback be?

The feedback should be specific, focused and respectful. It should also address aspects of the course, the teaching and your commitment to the learning experience, that are positive as well as those that need improvement.

When are course evaluation results released?

Evaluation results are released to instructors a week following the close of the system each term.

Can instructors see feedback?

Instructors can view all ratings and feedback for the course, including co-instructors.

Benefits

Transform time-consuming tasks related to paper course evaluations into an efficient online process and provide faculty and administrators with the reports they need to improve teaching and learning.

What to Expect

This service normally will be available 24 by 7 except for standard change windows, as described in IS&T’s standard policies, procedures, and schedules for making changes.

Getting Started

Faculty can log in at https://bu.campuslabs.com/faculty/ you can also find more information on the Faculty Help Center page.

When do course evaluations open?

Course evaluations usually open two weeks before the end of a course and remain open through the last week of classes and reading days. Your responses are confidential and your professors will not be able to see your name or user ID in relation to your answers.

What happens when you submit your evaluation?

Once you submit your evaluation you will be redirected to your list of course evaluations for the term.

How long does it take to see all responses for a course?

You will be able to view all responses for your course within an hour of all grades being posted through the Evaluation Result or Mid Term Eval Results.

What happens if your evaluation is incomplete?

If your evaluation is incomplete, you can return to it later and pick up where you left off.

Can the instructor see the results of a lecture?

Labs and Recitations: the primary instructor for the lecture will see the associated lab/recitation's TA/Section leader (s) results as well. The TA/Section leader (s) will see only the results of their instructor-related questions.

What is the primary purpose of end of course evaluations?

The College’s primary purpose for end of course evaluations in to improve instruction. The secondary function of end of course evaluations is for administrative use as part of teaching evaluations.

Where to find course evaluations in Sakai?

Students will see a “Course Evals” option on the left-hand menu in Sakai. Clicking on that option will show their course evaluations within the Sakai environment.

What is the Blue Course Evaluation System?

The Blue Course Evaluation System includes a feature which allows instructors to add personalized questions to their evaluations. All instructors listed for evaluation will have this opportunity. Instructors will receive an email from the system approximately seven days prior to the evaluation opening date with an access link and instructions.

Can responses to questions be included in student evaluations of teaching reports?

Responses to these added questions will not be included on Student Evaluations of Teaching reports for courses. They will be sent to each instructor in a separate report that only that instructor will have access to.

Can instructors log into Blue?

Instructors can also log into Blue at any time via any of the access options listed above. This will take you to the Blue Dashboard which will show Task List and have an option for checking response rates.

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